By SAM METZ and WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press
Gaza Strip’s DEIR AL-BALAH (AP) More than 100 nonprofit organizations issued a warning Thursday that Israel’s regulations for aid organizations operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip will prevent much-needed aid and substitute independent organizations with those that support Israel’s military and political objectives, accusations that Israel refuted.
Meanwhile, medical personnel reported a growing number of starvation deaths and additional Israeli attacks.
Many nations have pointed to the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the growing opposition to aid limits as reasons for their efforts to recognize Palestinian independence. A far-right government minister, however, described Israel’s plans for a major settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank on Thursday as a means of burying the idea of a Palestinian state.
Nonprofit organizations such as Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and CARE were reacting to registration regulations that Israel had established in March, which compel organizations to provide complete lists of their funders and Palestinian employees for verification. They argue that doing so might put their employees in risk and give Israel the right to halt funding if organizations are thought to be delegitimizing the nation or encouraging boycotts or divestitures.
The humanitarian organizations emphasized Thursday that since Israel imposed a blockade in March, the majority of them have not been able to send a single truck of life-saving aid. In their letter, they urged donors and other nations to put pressure on Israel to stop using aid as a weapon, especially by obstructing bureaucratic processes.
The organizations’ relief complements that of the United Nations, other governments’ airdrops, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new U.S.-Israeli contractor that has been the main distributor of aid in Gaza since May.
The amount of help that is currently reaching Gaza is still significantly less than what the United Nations and relief organizations used to provide, even with those conduits.
Dehydration is rising in Gaza due to scarce water supplies and a heatwave that has caused temperatures to rise beyond 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), according to a report released Thursday by UNRWA, the U.N. organization that aids Palestinian refugees.
Although a few humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies have started delivering aid again, they claim that the number of trucks permitted entry is still far from enough.
The assertions made in the letter from the NGOs were refuted by COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. 380 trucks reportedly entered Gaza on Wednesday. Additionally, according to the Israeli military, six different nations airdropped 119 assistance packages with food for Gaza residents on Thursday.
During the two-month pause, humanitarian organizations urged Israel to permit 600 trucks to enter each day.
According to COGAT, the purported delay in assistance entry only happens when groups decide not to comply with the fundamental security standards meant to thwart Hamas’ involvement.
The European Union, Canada, and the United States have all classified Hamas as a terrorist group.
Citing their commitment to neutrality, U.N. organizations have mostly refused Israel’s demand that they accept military escorts to carry goods into Gaza. Conflicting claims have arisen from the standoff: although humanitarian organizations that have long worked in Gaza complain about the volume of life-saving supplies stranded at border crossings, Israel insists it only permits help into Gaza that complies with its regulations.
U.S. ambassador Steve Witkoff met with U.N. humanitarian authorities in New York to discuss the urgent need to increase aid in Gaza, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israeli bombings on Gaza City, which Israel designated as a military bastion last week when it announced plans to begin a fresh onslaught against Hamas, resulted in injuries, according to hospitals across Gaza on Thursday. One person was killed and three injured in an Israeli strike on Gaza City, according to a Shifa Hospital spokesperson. Five individuals were murdered Thursday morning in Gaza City by a different hit, according to al-Ahli hospital, which received the victims.
Questions concerning the strikes were not immediately answered by Israel’s military.
The deaths bring the total number of Palestinian deaths to tens of thousands since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, when terrorists led by Hamas invaded Israel, murdering about 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 more.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed over 61,700 Palestinians, with around half of them being women and children. The ministry does not disclose how many of the deaths were fighters or civilians. Fifty hostages are still inside Gaza, while the majority have been freed through ceasefires or other agreements. Israel estimates that about 20 of them are still alive.
Medical experts work at the health ministry, which is a part of the Hamas-run government. It is regarded as the most trustworthy source of casualties by the U.N. and independent experts. Israel denies its numbers but hasn’t offered any of its own.
The ministry also announced four more fatalities from malnutrition on Thursday, bringing the total to 239—106 of them youngsters.
Israel’s far-right finance minister announced Thursday that a major settlement expansion would be built in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians and rights groups fear this could torpedo plans for a future Palestinian state by essentially dividing the West Bank into two halves.
According to Minister Bezalel Smotrich, doing so stifles the notion of a Palestinian state since no one or anything can be recognized.
He made reference to the numerous nations pursuing recognition, saying, “Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.”
The 3,500 apartments under consideration would extend the Maale Adumim community into E1, an open area east of Jerusalem. Although development in the region has been contemplated for over twenty years, it was put on hold during past administrations because of pressure from the United States. Final clearance of the E1 plan is anticipated next week, but it has not yet been granted.
The initiative was quickly denounced by rights groups. According to Peace Now, it is fatal for Israel’s future and any possibility of reaching a peaceful two-state solution.
Some European nations are increasing evacuations as they intensify their criticism of Israel and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
31 children with severe injuries and amputations or major congenital disorders were among the 114 Palestinian evacuees from Gaza that Italy’s foreign affairs ministry reported receiving on Wednesday.
More than 900 Palestinians have been evacuated from Gaza by Italy since the start of the conflict, including those who came as part of a program to reunite families.
From Jerusalem, Metz reported. Reporting was done by Associated Press writers Andrea Rosa in Rome, Farnoush Amiri at the UN, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war to follow AP’s coverage of the conflict.
